Martinell turns down invite to Colon celebrations

President, Ricardo Martinelli, will not be attending ceremonies in Colon on Friday Nov 5, although he had received a formal invitation.

Martinelli was invited by the Colon National Holidays Committee Martinelli The refusal came in a note addressed to the chairman of the committee, and was based on prior commitments.

On Wednesday,October 31 the Minister of the Presidency, Roberto Henriquez, announced that on November 7 a dialogue will start with different sectors of Columbus but Martinelli will not participate.
After 11 days of protest in which three people were killed including a nine year old boy, the National Assembly repealed Act 72, which allowed the sale of land in the Colon Free Zone.
Following the repeal, Martinelli arrived back in Panma after a tour of Japan and Vietnam. He admitted on national television that the government was wrong in thinking that Law No. 72 was consensual.